


Where All Thy Beauty Lies

by yubiwamonogatari



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Established Relationship, Glittering Caves, M/M, cute khuzdul petname tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:52:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7223104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yubiwamonogatari/pseuds/yubiwamonogatari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gimli shows Legolas the Glittering Caves, and the wonders within.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where All Thy Beauty Lies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mithrilbikini (liasangria)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liasangria/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [mithrilbikini (liasangria)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liasangria/pseuds/mithrilbikini) in the [2000GigolasFics](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/2000GigolasFics) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
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> gimli and legolas exploring the glittering caves after the events of return of the king (and y'know, those caves are nice and private too ;))
> 
> This is for the wonderful [Mith](http://www.mithrilbikini.tumblr.com)! Enjoy! I had great fun writing this :D!  
> [Come say hi to me on Tumblr!](http://www.yubiwamonogatari.tumblr.com)

 

 

 

 

“Meleth nín, elves are not meant to go so far under the earth.” Legolas braced his hand against the rock, his back bent at an awkward angle and his pack weighing heavy from the long journey.

He could barely see, the darkness underground so complete and almost stifling. Had Gimli really crept through these tunnels during the battle, and found them comforting? They felt enclosing to Legolas, like he might never see the light again.

“Aye,” came Gimli's voice from just ahead of him, a smile in his tone, “but elves are not meant to love dwarves either, and to love a dwarf is to love the rock and earth, over or under it!”

The answer brought a smile to Legolas' lips and strength enough to keep walking, feeling his way down the little tunnel.

“And to love an elf is to love the trees and forests – would you claim to love those, too?”

“Didn't I agree to go to Fangorn again, and not with an axe?”

Legolas breathed out a little laugh. Gimli had slowed down ahead of him, and as he reached out his fingers they brushed against the back of his lover's tunic. He gripped the dense fabric and closed his eyes, keeping his other hand above his head as he followed the dwarf ever deeper into the mountain.

“You did, you did! Yet I am sure I will hear all sorts of mutters and complaints when we step beneath the trees, so forgive me my misgivings.”

“You won't have them for long,” Gimli replied, conviction in his voice.

Legolas sighed. How he hoped Gimli was right. Though it seemed unimaginable, to be able to look at the stones and see their beauty would be a gift. Some statues caught his eye, as did some jewels and gems, but the bare slate and cold rock? It was dull, and lifeless. Heavy, somnolent, and dank.

“I won't lie, meleth nín. If I do not love what you hold so dear, I won't pretend it moves me as it moves you.”

“Aye, I know. I wouldn't want that, anyway,” said Gimli, the edges of his tone softening.

There was a slight change in the air, a lightening of the darkness which lifted some of the squeezing pressure around Legolas' throat and chest.

“We're close, now,” Gimli said, a smile audible in his voice. “And there's a little more room for you to move. When I bring my people here, the Glittering Caves will have mighty doors indeed – enough to rival Moria, and the great crafts folk of our past. Its corridors shall be wide enough for a whole battalion of elves to pass through as they please, and they shall be made most welcome. There will be passages through the caves, carved for all good creatures to view these splendours as they wish.”

“But until then, unless one is a dwarf, one must crawl to enter it,” teased Legolas.

Gimli laughed, stopping after a few more steps.

“Aye, well. You suit being on your knees.”

Legolas' own laughter rang out as he gave Gimli's shoulder a gentle push.

“Little good it does! Though I do like to look into your eyes without an ache in my spine or neck,” he shot back, slowly straightening up and opening his eyes.

It was still too dark to see anything more than vague rock outcroppings, no matter how much he squinted.

“Close your eyes, injamithê. You must see them all at once, not as a dawning.”

“Alright,” Legolas said, closing his eyes again and clasping his hands behind him.

He could hear Gimli moving around, as well as the strike of flint and the sizzle of tinder catching alight. The smell of burning wood chips crept around the cavern, and he could see the darkness beyond his eyelids begin to redden. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, tightening his fingers around his own wrist. How much preparation could it take, to show him some rocks – glittering, or not?

“There,” Gimli finally said, a smug note in his tone. “Go on. Open them.”

Legolas took a short breath, a sudden rush of nervousness tugging at the bottom of his stomach as he opened his eyes.

Dazzling light blinded him after the long dark of the tunnel, his eyes stinging and his heart fluttering in his breast. Quickly his eyes adjusted, and the painful white gave way to a multitude of pinks and yellows, the frozen stone leaping from the walls in quivering waves of pure sunset. The colours plunged into deep reds and oranges, rock twisting as if living flame, and below it deepened further into indigos and dark blues, ending in twinkling night around their feet.

Above the blushing waves of gems soared great arches of the palest whites and blues, like someone or something had drawn the clouds down out of the sky and held them still in sculpted bridges between the walls of the cavern.

Gimli had set torches down around their feet, their light springing from gem to gem. The air felt alive with colour, quivering with the dancing flames.

“... Well...?” Gimli asked, his voice soft.

Legolas reached out, grasping blindly for Gimli's hand.

“Arda is painted below the earth,” he whispered. “Never did I think simple stone could exist in such colours, such shapes...!”

Gimli laughed, squeezing his hand gently between his own. The beardy kiss to his knuckles brought Legolas out of his trance. He leaned down, grasping Gimli's cheeks and kissing him soundly.

“You begin to understand, then,” Gimli said, delight in his voice. “There's more to see.”

Legolas let himself be led through the chamber and down another narrow tunnel, Gimli carrying a torch to light their path. The stone was a deep purple, shot through with veins of pale white.

“What is this...? Mithril...?” he asked, touching them.

Gimli laughed loudly. “Ah! What innocence, to call simple opal mithril! Such are the eyes of an elf,” he chuckled. Legolas tugged at his hand, rolling his eyes.

“It's unkind to mock those trying to learn,” he said, though he smiled as Gimli nodded in agreement.

Legolas stroked over the thin streaks again, between the thick, purple rock.

“It is opal,” Gimli said. “Beautiful, and abundant beneath the earth. Not to say it has no value! This purple rock is basalt, see how it is pitted? These bands form between the layers. Press your fingers here.”

Gimli gently guided Legolas's fingers towards a thicker streak. He ran his fingers along it, feeling the difference between the rough and the smooth.

“Here is where the earth bore down. Where Mahal sang of layers upon layers of rock. You told me once elves heard the voices of the trees. Well, dwarves hear the voices of the stone.”

Legolas nodded, brushing his thumb over the join of opal and basalt.

“I cannot hear it,” he admitted, a touch of sorrow to his voice, “but perhaps I begin to understand. I hope to hear it in time.”

“You will,” Gimli said. He took Legolas' hand again, drawing him forwards through the tunnels.

The next chamber was a fair distance away, and Legolas could feel their descent in his bones. He was far underground, but the feeling was different to Moria, and again to the haunted caverns beneath the Dwimorberg. They had felt crypt-like, steeped in death. These caverns, however, stole the breath from his lungs with their beauty.

Up ahead Legolas could hear the sound of dripping water. He cocked his head.

“Ah!” Gimli laughed. “Your keen ears hear it before mine, then.” Suddenly he burst into loud song, walking a little faster.

The sound of his singing filled the tunnel, hiding the noise of falling water. Legolas grinned, tuning his ears to his lover's voice rather than the water underneath it. He could close his eyes and allow sight to be returned on Gimli's command, but he could not close his ears.

Before long they came to the entrance of another chamber. Gimli finished his verse, lifting his torch a little higher.

The cavern was filled with spindly columns of rock, pale whites and pinks in the torchlight. They had a strange, knobbly shape to them, varying in thickness and length. Their surfaces shimmered with wetness, and looked like they would be soft to the touch. Hundreds of them rose from the ground and hung from the ceiling, and between them water fell in droplets, draining out somewhere beneath their feet. Tiny pools gleamed between the stone.

“You were not listening anyway,” Gimli chuckled. “My singing was for naught. Come on.”

He led Legolas deeper into the room. Towards the centre was a large oval stone, its surface dry.

“I was listening,” Legolas said. “I could hear the water dripping. This is a strange place indeed. What rock grows in such manner?”

“These are not grown, but carved by water,” said Gimli, sitting them down on the flat stone. “Close your eyes, and listen.”

Legolas did as he was asked, clasping his hands together on his lap. The darkness felt more complete for knowing how deep underground he was.

Water dripped around him, some quiet and some loud. Each dink followed its own pattern, but there had to be hundreds of droplets falling in the cavern. It sounded like the rain that fell on his home in the Greenwood, but without the rich smell of the drinking earth. There was a hollow sound, and he couldn't tell which drops were echoes.

“You're not listening properly, injamithê,” said Gimli after a moment or two had passed.

“I can hear it,” Legolas said with a frown. “I hear the falling water. I hear the echoes, and the hollow of the cave.”

Gimli laughed softly, taking both of Legolas' hands in his.

“Listen to the music, elf. You say you can hear the singing of the flowers in spring. Listen to the singing of deep rock under the ground.”

Legolas stifled a sigh. He settled more comfortably onto the rock, linking his fingers with Gimli's and listening again to the falling water.

There were high notes and low notes, some soft, some harsh. Plinks and plonks and one rounded plop, water falling into a pool rather than onto rock.

Then, from the whispered chaos of dripping water, Legolas began to hear the patterns. Individual sounds merged with the whole like a chorus of voices, and the chamber seemed suddenly alive with song.

“It's a fragment of the music Eru crafted and taught to Mahal and Ulmo,” said Gimli, his voice soft and reverent. “This is where the two meet, in caverns below the earth. Erebor has fine chambers of this sort, too. The notes are different, but the tune's the same.”

Legolas nodded, leaning to the side and resting his head on Gimli's shoulder.

There was magic in the music. Deep and ancient – even more so than the trees and forests. Something that tickled at the edges of his brain, and made him think of the slow wash of waves he'd never seen before, and a rolling expanse of dark green.

He smiled as Gimli's lips brushed against his forehead. Legolas opened his eyes, returning the soft kiss.

“It's beautiful, meleth nín. Thank you for opening my heart to it. I find myself ever more eager to introduce you once more to the forests, for if an elf can hear the music in the deep rock, surely a dwarf can hear the music in the roots and leaves.”

Gimli chuckled, nodding his head. He stood, pulling Legolas to follow.

“Aye, I hope so! Come on, there's one more I wish to show you, and then I will consider your promise to me fulfilled.”

Legolas laughed, allowing himself to be guided around the little pools and pillars of stone. They walked to the last chamber in silence, through winding tunnels that led up and down and round and round, until Legolas was utterly lost in the depths of the mountain. He ran his thumb over the ridge of Gimli's knuckles, the music of falling water fading into nothing behind them.

“Here,” Gimli finally said, stepping through a little natural arch.

The hair on the nape of Legolas' head tugged at his skin. There was a thrill of magic in here, something ancient and long forgotten.

The chamber was small, no bigger than 20 feet or so, but tall enough that he could stand comfortably. Gimli lifted the torch, a smile on his face.

Legolas' knees wobbled. The stone encasing him was a deep black, matte enough not to throw back the light from the torch in gleaming flashes. Set in the stone were hundreds of thousands of glittering stones, some as large as his thumbnail, and some as fine as grains of sand.

He felt as if he was floating. Suspended in night, wrapped in Varda's arms. Whispers of purples and blues drifted through the black rock, the stones twinkling merrily – pleased to be seen.

“Diamonds,” Gimli said softly. Legolas tore his gaze away from the walls and ceiling, watching as the dwarf unhooked the bedrolls from the top of his pack, spreading them out on the ground.

Legolas sat and laughed softly as his lover pulled him down onto his back. He linked his fingers over his stomach, looking up at the cavern.

The night sky filled his vision. It seemed vast, and he couldn't tell where floor met wall and ceiling. All was contained, and endless.

“Tauriel would love to see caves such as this,” Legolas said softly, turning his head to look at his lover, lying beside him.

“Aye. She's welcome here. All elves are,” Gimli added, a twinkle in his eye.

Legolas reached out, running his fingers over Gimli's cheek and beard. He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Gimli's lips.

“Thank you for showing me these caves. Truly, their splendour lives up to your descriptions. I would happily spend my days here, with you.”

Gimli's face shone with delight, and his broad palms on Legolas' cheeks were warm.

“Daft elf... I've got forests to live in, don't forget. But your words bring me great comfort. I shall go into Fangorn with more hope than ever. If an elf can be happy underground, a dwarf can be happy under branches.”

Legolas kissed him again, laughing against his lover's mouth.

“As I have learned,” he said, shifting his body closer to the dwarf's, “an open mind will take you to far places.”

Gimli chuckled in agreement, starting to kick off his boots and heavy outer layers. The flames from the torch and their bodies in the small chamber were heating the air. Legolas followed Gimli's lead. They would camp here overnight – though he had lost track of the time, and would have to rely on Gimli's stone sense to tell him when night had fallen and the sun risen.

“How does the room not fill with smoke?” he asked, pulling off his tunic and breeches, folding them neatly under his head as a pillow. Legolas stretched out on the thick blankets, naked in the warming air.

“There are wee fissures in the rock, leading into other caverns and out beyond the rock,” replied Gimli, stripping out of his clothing too. “The whole mountain is full of them. Natural ventilation, pulling the air out and drawing more in, so we may breathe.”

Legolas rolled onto his side, resting his palm against Gimli's chest. The backdrop of stars made his heart lift, Varda's arms a cocoon around them.

“I almost wish to keep these caves and Fangorn a secret, just for us,” Legolas whispered. He moved to press his body against Gimli's, wrapping an arm around his waist. The splay of Gimli's wide palm against his lower back sent a thrill through him, and he could feel love unfurling within him like spring.

“And deny others a glimpse at this beauty? Selfish elf,” Gimli said with a smile. “It is not in my dwarven nature to deny my kin, and any others, who wish to look upon these caves.”

Legolas laughed and planted a few kisses over Gimli's forehead and cheeks. The diamonds glittered above them. “Then I will be more selfish, and ask that you carve a secret chamber here, just for us. One no other is allowed into.”

“Aye, I can do that,” said Gimli, sliding his hands up Legolas' back. “You can make us a tree house in Fangorn, then, or whatever you think the forest won't throw to the ground with us in it.”

“If we are thrown to the ground by an ill tempered tree, I will catch you,” Legolas said, stealing a kiss from his lover's mouth and trailing a hand down his broad chest. “Heavy as you are...” he teased, curling his fingers into the thick hair at Gimli's belly.

The brush of Gimli's knees against his thighs, and his fingertips tracing patterns over the sensitive skin of his back made Legolas shiver, heat sparking deep in his belly.

“Muscle and bone wrapped around stone,” Gimli said, amusement in his voice.

“Certainly I have felt the rock beneath the skin,” whispered Legolas, dropping his fingers down a little further to wrap around the hardening length of his lover.

The sharp intake of Gimli's breath sent a tingle down his spine, and he shifted his head so he could mouth at the jut of the dwarf's clavicles.

“Aye, you have, and I've felt the same in you... What has sparked such eagerness?” Gimli asked, bringing his own hands round to trail over Legolas' thighs and down to where he was curved up towards his stomach.

Legolas flexed his hips forwards, pushing the head of his cock against Gimli's fingertips.

“Am I usually uneager?” he teased, though his breath stuttered out of him as Gimli gave his cock a firm squeeze. “Ah, meleth nín, you have shown me such beautiful things in these caves. I am moved.”

“Evidently,” Gimli laughed. Legolas silenced his chuckles with a slow kiss, running his fingers up his lover's length to squeeze around the head. The rush of breath against his mouth was sweet enough revenge. “Well, I'm not complaining,” said Gimli. “Just don't expect me to lift my hammer at the sight of trees.”

“I shall not,” Legolas said, nipping at his lover's lower lip. He swung a leg over Gimli, groaning softly as the action pressed their lengths and hands together.

Legolas wrapped his arm around Gimli's waist, arching his back to slide his cock against his lover's own, the friction and feeling of coarse hair and heated flesh kindling fire in his veins. He loved all ways they found pleasure together, but something about this felt intimate, and made him breathless. Gimli's hand on his hip urged him to move again, and he complied eagerly.

Their talking gave way to ragged breaths and low noises of pleasure, their bodies moving in harmony and time passing unnoticed. The air was warm, and Legolas' hair tickled over their skin. He groaned loudly as Gimli bit down on his neck, lust twisting in his belly.

He was getting close. Gimli's grip was tight against his hip as Legolas ground against his muscled stomach, the copper curls dampening with sweat and their excitement.

“Ah, meleth nín, I need--...” he gasped, pushing himself to straddle Gimli. The change in angle made his movement easier, and he moaned sharply at the added rush of bliss.

Then Gimli's fingers wrapped around the both of them.

 

[(NSFW Image by Rutobuka)](http://nastyrutobuka.tumblr.com/post/147859523530/a-scene-from-yubiwamonogataris-where-all-thy)

 

Legolas trembled, looking down at the flushed face of his lover. His heart leapt, a rush of love for the dwarf sweeping through him. The blanket had slid down and Gimli seemed to be suspended in the starry sky, hallowed and protected by Varda, by the Valar themselves.

That thought, and Gimli's fingers forming a tight circle around the head of his cock, tipped Legolas over the edge. He came with a low cry, spilling over their bellies and keening as Gimli's hand sped up, but his lover finished a heartbeat later, a second rush of wet heat covering their skin.

“Oh,” he groaned, dropping down on top of Gimli and resting his head on the dwarf's shoulder. “... I find myself thinking much more kindly towards rock and stone...”

Gimli's laughter was enough to bounce Legolas a little, and he couldn't help but join in, clutching at Gimli for balance.

“Ridiculous elf,” Gimli grinned, kissing Legolas hard before rolling him back onto the blanket and embracing him.

“Stubborn dwarf,” replied Legolas, nothing but love in his voice. He tugged a square of material from his pack, cleaning the mess on their stomachs. “I have no urge to leave these caves, but I long ever stronger to show you the beauty of Fangorn.”

“Aye,” said Gimli, “and I am eager to see it. After a little time here to rest, and a few hearty meals.”

“A fair request. Fangorn will wait, as I will, happy in your company.” Legolas tossed the rag to the side. Later they would go back to the musical caves, and wash it – if Gimli deemed the water safe.

Gimli smiled, stifling a yawn and moving closer to Legolas' form, resting his head on Legolas' shoulder.

“As am I, amralê,” said Gimli, “as am I.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Someone reported my fics on Ao3 - This is why!](http://yubiwamonogatari.tumblr.com/post/148307664796/so-someone-reported-me-on-ao3)
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> The amazing art was drawn by the wonderful Ruto!
> 
> You can find [me](http://www.yubiwamonogatari.tumblr.com), [Tea](http://www.mcmanatea.tumblr.com), and [Ruto](http://www.rutobuka2.tumblr.com) all on tumblr! If you enjoyed this fic, please consider sending them a message, too! 
> 
> The amount of work these amazing people put in as betas can never be measured. They dedicate so much time and effort, and I'm so grateful for their insight and work.
> 
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> 
> [Come say hi to me on Tumblr!](http://www.yubiwamonogatari.tumblr.com)
> 
> Meleth nín - My love  
> Injamithê- My little leaf


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